Herbert Leslie Collins (1888 - 1959)

Biography

Herbert Leslie Collins was born in Darlinghurst New South Wales in January 1888; and was the son of Thomas Jones Collins, and his wife Emma, née Charlton.

Herbert (Herbie) Leslie Collins was an Australian cricketer who played 19 Tests between 1920 and 1926 for his country. He was classed as an all-rounder, and captained the Australian team on eleven occasions.

Herbie Collins' early cricket career was initially interrupted by World War I, but resumed at the end of the war. Initially with the AIF Eleven in England and later South Africa on their way back to Australia in 1919. The hugely successful AIF Eleven tour culminated in a three match series in Australia against New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland Sheffield sides. Herbie was eventually selected for his First Test Match in December 1920.

In World War I he had served in the Australian Imperial Force, and his Unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A8 Argyllshire on 30 September 1915. Seeing action firstly in Palestine with the 6th Company Army Service Corps, and from June 1916 with 10th Company as a driver in France. By the end of the war he had reached the rank of Lance Corporal.

He enlisted again in World War II into the second A.I.F. and from November 1940 was a sergeant in Eastern Command's Salvage and Recovery Section of the Army Service Corps. He was transferred to the reserve in November 1941

On 30 October 1939 he had married Marjorie Warilda Paine, but they divorced in 1953. Collins died of cancer in Prince Henry Hospital in Little Bay in New South Wales, Australia on 28 May 1959 and was cremated, he was survived by a son.

Herbie Collins was not only a cricketer, but had played Rugby League in Sydney before World War I and worked as a journalist and a racetrack bookmaker for many years. For a few months in 1941 he wrote a regular Newspaper column " Life Story of HERBERT COLLINS published in the Western Mail in Perth, Western Australia. And at one time a stipendiary steward with Associated Race Clubs

Sources

• New South Wales Births, Deaths & Marriages: BIRTH: COLLINS, HERBERT L. registration no. 805/1888 - father: THOMAS J. - mother: EMMA - district: SYDNEY. from the NSW Family History Search first accessed online on the 6th of December, 2021 at: https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/births?

• New South Wales Births, Deaths & Marriages: DEATH: COLLINS, HERBERT LESLIE. registration: 8666/1959 - (AGED 7O LITTLE BAY) - registered: SYDNEY. from the NSW Family History Search first accessed online on the 6th of December, 2021 at: https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/deaths?

• B. G. Andrews, Collins, Herbert Leslie (1889–1959), Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/collins-herbert-leslie-5738/text9713, published first in hardcopy 1981, accessed online 4 December 2021.

• Herbie Collins from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. first accessed online of the 4th of December, 2021 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbie_Collins

• Herbert Leslie (Herbie) COLLINS fom the Virtual War Memorial online. retrieved on the 4th of December, 2021 from: https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/249734

• Herbert Leslie Collins from the ESPNCRICINFO website. retrieved on the 4th of December, 2021 from: https://www.espncricinfo.com/player/herbie-collins-4602

• Herbie Collins from the WISDEN website. retrieved on the 4th of December, 2021 from: https://wisden.com/players/herbie-collins

• Australian Imperial Force Touring XI from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. first accessed online of the 4th of December, 2021 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Imperial_Force_Touring_XI

• SEPTEMBER 15, 2019 BY ANTHONY CONDON from his BLOG ANTHONY CONDON: Cricket Historian retrieved on the 4th of December, 2021 from: https://anthonycondon.com/2019/09/15/2210/

From TROVE

• CRICKET from the Referee (Sydney, NSW : 1886 - 1939) of Wednesday 28 May 1919, Page 14

• CRICKET from the Referee (Sydney, NSW : 1886 - 1939) of Wednesday 30 July 1919, Page 13

• A.I.F. Captain's Views from the Referee (Sydney, NSW : 1886 - 1939) of Wednesday 3 December 1919, Page 12

• THE A.I.F. ELEVEN. from the Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954) of Saturday 10 January 1920, Page 33

• Australian Eleven Players Have Good Records from The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954) of Saturday 11 December 1920, Page 6. retrieved on the 4th of December, 2021 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/242239900?searchTerm=%22Herbert%20Collins%22%20cricket

• AUSTRALIAN ELEVEN CARICATURES, No. 2— H. L. COLLINS this caricature first published in the Referee (Sydney, NSW : 1886 - 1939) of Wednesday 18 January 1922, Page 12. first accessed on TROVE on the 3rd of April, 2022 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/127920491?

• THE TEST MATCH. from The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946) of Saturday 13 December 1924, Page 44. retrieved on the 4th of December, 2021 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/140766338?

• AUSTRALIAN TEAM FOR ENGLAND from The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947) of Thursday 31 December 1925, Page 12. retrieved on the 4th of December, 2021 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/179612686?

• ABOARD THE OTRANTO BOUND FOR ENGLAND from the Referee (Sydney, NSW : 1886 - 1939) of Wednesday 14 April 1926, Page 12. retrieved on the 4th of December, 2021 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/128106565?searchTerm=%22Herbert%20Collins%22%20cricket

• NOTED TEST PLAYERS. from The Kadina and Wallaroo Times (SA : 1888 - 1954) of Saturday 25 February 1933, Page 4. retrieved on the 4th of December, 2021 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110146196?searchTerm=%22Herbert%20Collins%22%20cricket

• Herbert Leslie COLLINS from the AIF PROJECT website first accessed online on the 5th of March, 2023.